Vitamin D in patients with irritable bowel syndrome – status and modulation factors

Author: Dunja Leskovar, Ivana Kraljević, Marina Panek, Ana Kunović, Tomislav Meštrović, Mihaela Perić, Hana Čipčić Paljetak, Mario Matijašić, Anja Barešić, Darija Vranešić Bender, Silvija Čuković Čavka, Marko Brinar, Nikša Turk, Vesna Oroz, Marija Crnčević Urek, Mirjana Kalauz, Vera Kufner, Karmen Brajša, Gabrijela Ergović, Dina Ljubas Kelečić, Dora Grgić, Irena Karas, Dunja Rogić, Marko Banić, Željko Krznarić, Donatella Verbanac

Abstract:

Recent population findings suggest a general presence of vitamin D deficiency which is independent of external factors (e.g. place of residence, sun exposure). Hypovitaminosis of vitamin D is known to occur very often in intestine disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The scope of the present work was to determine the vitamin D status in serum of 39 patients with a diagnosis of IBS. The obtained results indicate a deficit of vitamin D for most of the subjects (72%) and confirm the fact that IBS patients having higher vitamin D values show milder symptoms of disease. Analysing patients’ demographic characteristics and habits (diet and smoking), variations in vitamin D were observed and interestingly, subjects with BMI <19, show the highest levels of vitamin D. Additionally, we compared the vitamin D status among smokers (lower values) and non-smokers (higher values) and have obtained statistical significant difference (p = 0,031). Our research suggests that higher vitamin D intake and smoking cessation can have positive effect on increasing vitamin D in serum. Vitamin D supplementation represents a promising approach aimed at improving the quality of life and mitigates the symptoms of the IBS disease.

Key words:
vitamin D; irritable bowel syndrome; diet; smoking